For one photographer despite the dark days of lockdown and

the grief of losing her husband, Teresa Sumerfield’s latest

project features the rainbow in Colours of Resilience

Words by Phyllis Stephen

Pool

12 FEATURE TERESA SUMERFIELD

ABOVE - At

Glenogle Baths

TOP RIGHT- Swimming

in circles at Glenogle

FAR RIGHT - Swimmers

at Portobello Baths

RIGHT - Photographer,

Teresa Sumerfield

Edinburgh Leisure gave me access to the

pools. Most of the people in the photos

are egg members who volunteered

F

or Teresa Sumerfield the best

results have emerged from

the worst of motivations –

the grief of losing her

husband Daniel.

After Daniel’s death two

and a half years ago, South

Queensferry based Teresa created a series of

photos as part of project.

Already drawn to rainbows, and having

used the seven coloured spectrum in previous

photo shoots, she knew what she wanted to

create but just needed a little help to do it.

During lockdown she did much the same

as “every other photographer did” and took

photos of families on doorsteps. Teresa said:

“I took photos of 273 families at their front

doors. My daughter and I would go out every

day. We had a list and tried to manage it so

that we did five families a day.

“During lockdown my husband was

poorly but he was working from home.

He was auto-immune and the doctors were

trying to work out what it was at the time,

so he was in isolation.

“Daniel died about two and a half years ago

now. He was 46, he was very young, and he

had been very fit until then. He had cycled

from Vienna to Prague with his work. He had

been diagnosed with cancer first and

recovered from that - he ran a half marathon

for to raise money for the Maggie’s Centre.

And then about a year after that things started

going wrong again, but we didn’t know why.”

Eventually Daniel was diagnosed with

Adult Onset Still’s Disease which is a rare

rheumatological condition, and despite

treatment he was very ill in intensive care

when lockdown began.

Teresa explained that she was able

to be with him when he died, which she

“will be forever grateful for”.

As a former mental health occupational

therapist, you get the sense that this is

someone who knows herself very well. She

studied in Edinburgh and moved to London

where she worked in a medium secure unit

for criminal offenders before working in the

Gorbals in Glasgow for a period.

She then went to Bermuda working there

for seven years, during which time she met

Daniel who had come from England. She also

thinks that is where she developed a love of

colour, and is known for her rainbow tattoos.

She said: “I was running art groups - there

was such a huge amount of talent there.

I created an exhibition called ‘Can you hear

me now?’ for people who used mental health

services. The exhibition moved to City Hall in

Hamilton- and it is still running.

“I also started a photography course with

digital cameras donated by local Rotary clubs.

Daniel bought me my first digital camera in

Bermuda and when we came back I went to

work as a second camera for a friend who

took wedding photos. I did weddings with

her for years.”

After Daniel died (which crushingly

happened just a year after her own mother

had died of cancer), Teresa said she was

chatting to a “very, very positive” friend

around Christmas time who had been gifted a

at the end

of the

book about Victorian swimming pools. She

suggested that Teresa would love it, but the

photographer in her resisted seeing the book

as she said photographing Victorian pools

had always been on her bucket list.

She takes up the story: “My friend said -

‘Well do it then. What’s the point in a bucket

list?’ And if I have learned anything it is that

life is way too short and we are not

guaranteed anything.

“At that point I went onto egg (Scotland’s

largest business support group for women)

and asked if anyone could help me achieve

this. I didn’t really know what I was

doing - I just knew I wanted to take photos.

Wendy Avinou sent me a message telling me

that I had done her lockdown photos and that

she is the manager of two Victorian pools at

Dalry and Glenogle, and could make it

happen for me. Edinburgh Leisure gave

me access to the pools and a lot of

encouragement. Most of the people in the

photos are members of egg who volunteered.”

The theme of rainbow colours was again an

obvious choice when she began taking the

photos in the various pools. All the photos are

now for sale framed or unframed and profits

raised will be donated to Richmond’s Hope,

a charity based in Craigmillar which helps

bereaved families, but particularly children

and young people between the ages of

4 and 18.

Teresa added: “Richmond’s Hope is an

organisation which has worked with my

daughter Ruby who was just seven when her

Daddy died. They are amazing. All of them

are so lovely and so welcoming.”

Teresa also took the official photos of the

Big Hare Trail, a public art event in North

Berwick featuring giant sculptures which

raised money for Leuchie House, a family

respite centre in East Lothian, and more often

than not is found on duty at weddings taking

photos of the lovely brides and grooms.

Teresa exhibited her series of photographs

at Dovecot supported by egg, and would love

to stage another exhibition. If you have a

suitable space then please do get in touch

with her.

http://www.facebook.com/

TeresaSumerfieldPhotography